Tag-Archive for » Appetizers «
21
Dec 2012
Dec 2012
Don’t ask me why, but lately I’ve been in the mood for caponata. It may have something to do with the cold temps and rain and wind and rain. Although that doesn’t make good sense because this spread is usually not eaten hot. No warming-of-the-bones-association here. Maybe I’m just longing for home and all the comforts that come with it. After all, the only caponata I’ve ever eaten aside from my own is Josie Manca’s. I’ve told you about Josie. She, her brother and her sister were dear friends of my grandmother’s and a big part of our family. None [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Side Dishes, Vegetables
Tags: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Vegetables One Comment
07
Dec 2012
Dec 2012
In New Orleans, we love our hot sauce. The trinity of top local brands includes Tabasco, Crystal and Louisiana Hot Sauce. Each has a loyal following. My dad’s dad Beau, for instance, carried Tabasco everywhere he went and always had an emergency bottle stashed in his glove box. I think he put it on everything but dessert. The hubby is also a huge Tabasco man. Me? My favorites are Tabasco and Louisiana Hot Sauce with very specific uses for each. Tabasco has more heat than Louisiana Hot Sauce and because of that it’s a must in my cocktail sauce and [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Beverages, Finger Food Fridays, Poor Boys, Seafood, Shrimp
Tags: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Shrimp Recipes Comments off
16
Nov 2012
Nov 2012
Since this is the last Friday before Thanksgiving, I thought this recipe for Mini Blue Cheese Popovers would be a good one to share since it works well as a finger food and can also fill in nicely on Thanksgiving Day as a pre-meal snack, a salad course escort or a petite dinner roll. The crisp edges, airy insides and punchy blue cheese bite make these popovers extra-special. You know I’m not much on baking and I’ve never made traditional popovers. But I do like to occasionally play around with these types of recipes and I somewhat understand what makes [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Thanksgiving
Tags: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays Comments off
09
Nov 2012
Nov 2012
On this gorgeous day, at least where I am, I’m serving up another holiday helper. Yeah, I know. Artichoke Dip. Been there, done that. But mine is different. Well, a little. More importantly, I have to blog about it because it forces me to write down my recipe for my kiddos (and anyone else) so they can enjoy it for years to come. So here it is. My spin on this classic Southern staple. My recipe starts with the universal artichoke dip base: artichoke hearts, mayo and Parmesan cheese. From there, I kick it up with roasted red peppers, jalapenos, [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays
Tags: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Vegetables Comments off
02
Nov 2012
Nov 2012
I’ve been making this recipe with some variation of chicken for years now. It’s one of my favorite weekday lunches. And it all started with leftover chicken and a hodgepodge of fridge finds. Some of my off-the-cuff lunch creations like this are worth repeating. Others are not. This one’s been in constant rotation since day one because it’s quick and flavorful and the entire family likes it. But because the sauce is made with Greek yogurt, I had to give it a code name so my kids wouldn’t snub it–they were weird about that stuff when I first started [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Chicken, Finger Food Fridays, Sauces
Tags: Appetizers, Chicken, Finger Food Fridays, Sauces One Comment
26
Oct 2012
Oct 2012
Today’s finger food is for the kids. It was inspired by my neighbor’s youngest son who, several months back, starting referring to my Finger Food Fridays as “Fun Fridays.” My neighbor has three boys around the same ages as my gang. They are always together, unless one of her boys has ball practice or a game. On sports-free Friday evenings, she’ll typically mosey on down to share a beer and finger food out on my patio. Our children love it because they know those impromtu visits mean they’ll get to play outside until after dark. We love it because we [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Pork
Tags: Appetizers, Finger Food Fridays, Pork 3 Comments
28
Sep 2012
Sep 2012
I’ve been under the weather this week and yearning for a big bowl of warm, soothing and spicy gumbo. I just couldn’t find the time or energy to pull it together. So yesterday morning the thought came to me to prepare a knock off of my Chicken and Andouille Gumbo in finger food form. And here it is! What do you think? Okay. Not a fair question since you haven’t tasted it yet. But let me say, these meatballs rock. They’re light and flavorful and perfectly seasoned, especially when partnered up with the gravy (or sauce or whatever you want [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Chicken, Finger Food Fridays, Gumbo, New Orleans Classics, Poor Boys, Pork, Roux, Sauces
Tags: andouille sausage, Appetizers, Chicken, Finger Food Fridays, Roux One Comment
17
Aug 2012
Aug 2012
I’ve had this blackened chicken idea in my head for sometime now. It just took me awhile to figure out the best way to pull all the pieces together into a nifty little finger food. My original thought was to wrap the ingredients in pie dough. But I just used that dough for my crawfish pies. I decided instead to finish the Blackened Chicken Bites a couple of different ways and go with whatever recipe turned out best.
My first batch of Blackened Chicken Bites involved filling Tostitos Scoops with the cream cheese mixture, placing a piece of blackened chicken on [ ... ]
03
Aug 2012
Aug 2012
Are you hungry for something rich and luscious and seafoody? Good. Because that’s exactly what I’m cooking up for today’s Happy Hour! I’m making crawfish pies which consist of sweet crawfish meat smothered in a creamy, roux-based sauce with the perfect amount of Cajun Country kick. Throughout the backroads of South Louisiana, you’ll typically find these savory pies prepared as you would a large dessert pie. The pie is sliced and served along with a green salad or some sort of stewed vegetable. But they can also be made into individual portions using mini pastry shells like these.
For years, I [ ... ]
Category: Appetizers, Crawfish, Finger Food Fridays, Seafood
Tags: Appetizers, crawfish, Finger Food Fridays, Seafood 16 Comments
27
Jul 2012
Jul 2012
Chips and salsa may not be the first things that come to mind when thinking about New Orleans finger food. But that dynamic duo and several other south-of-the-border snacks are party and football-watching staples in many homes and sports bars throughout the City. More importantly, I love chips and salsa. When I’m happy, I celebrate with chips and salsa. When I’m sad, I seek comfort in chips and salsa. And when I’m stressed, I relax by eating obnoxiously large quantities of chips and salsa. I truly believe I could live off of water, coffee, beer and … chips and salsa. [ ... ]
